Ever since a mob of people burst inside the U.S. Capitol building on January 6th, resulting in a handful of people dying, the Democrats have been using it as political fodder against the Republicans. They have claimed that then-President Donald Trump ‘incited’ it to happen.
This has lead to the second impeachment of Donald Trump, even after he has left office, arguably to keep him from running for office again in part. Democrats have also singled out certain Senators who they claim played a role because they objected to the certification of Joe Biden even as many others who planned to dropped those plans.
A case could be made that they are singling out two of the most effective U.S. Senators in the Republican party though, and one of them is fighting back. Since the Democrats filed an ethics complaint against Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Ted Cruz (R-TX) there has been outrage.
Hawley is now signaling that he doesn’t intend to take this battle sitting down. It’s officially been reported that he is reversing the playbook on the Democrats who are filing against him, demanding an ethics investigation into the seven Democrats filing against Cruz and Hawley.
Senators Ron Wyden, (D-OR); Sheldon Whitehouse, (D-RI) Tina Smith, (D-MN); Richard Blumenthal, (D-CT); Maize Hirono, (D-HI), Tim Kaine, (D-VA)., and Sherrod Brown, (D-OH).
You can see Hawley’s letter below:
Fox News reported in part:
Sen. Josh Hawley Monday slammed the Democratic senators who filed an ethics complaint against him and Sen. Ted Cruz over their Electoral College objections on Jan. 6 — and continued to defend his decision to object to electoral votes during the joint session to certify President Biden’s Nov. 3 win.
Hawley aired his grievances in two letters sent Monday morning. In one of the letters, Hawley, R-Mo., called for the Senate Ethics Committee to investigate the six Democrats who filed the complaint against him and Cruz, R-Texas, accusing the senators of filing “an unprecedently frivolous and improper ethics complaint… [w]ithout citing any relevant evidence or offering any good-faith argument.”
Hawley on Jan. 6 joined a House member’s objection to the Pennsylvania Electoral College votes, triggering two hours of debate in each chamber over the validity of the slate and votes on whether Congress should reject them. Cruz objected to Arizona’s electors.
“The complaint against me does not suggest that my objection to Pennsylvania’s electoral votes was legally improper. No Senator could make such a suggestion with a straight face. Federal law expressly authorizes Senators to object that a State’s electoral votes were not ‘regularly given,'” Hawley says in his letter to the Ethics Committee. “Democrats have repeatedly invoked this provision. Indeed, in every presidential election since 2000 that a Republican has won, Democrats have sought to object to electoral votes on that ground, regardless of whether any good-faith basis existed for such objections.”
Hawley further defended his decision to object to Pennsylvania’s electoral votes as having a “strong legal basis.”
This may catch Democrats off guard, and perhaps surprise even some Republicans. Many ‘RINOs’ and Democrats have been after Senators Hawley and Cruz, but particularly Hawley. This is arguably because he is a young Senator in a red state who has shown the propensity to stand up to Democrats more than many other Republicans. Democrats clearly want to shore up a case to tarnish Hawley (and of course Texas Senator Cruz as well).
This is because their lives and jobs would be easier without strong leaders in the party who actually try to listen to their constituents and stand up to the left.
A case could be made that with Democrats sweeping elections and consolidating their majority in both the White House and the Legislative Branch, Republicans need to take a softer approach and try to work with Democrats more. Hawley and Cruz are showing that they are not ready to do that just yet.
Standby as we continue to monitor this developing story as it unfolds.
